A's seek to break through in playoffs against BoSox

OAKLAND, Calif. - After three remarkable regular seasons and three first-round playoff exits, the Oakland Athletics have begun to wonder whether they will break through in October.

Of course, playoff failure is relative. The A's merely must look across the Coliseum field Wednesday night at the Boston Red Sox - a talented team in its ninth decade without a championship.

"We've got to keep it intact," A's manager Ken Macha said with a grin.

Belief will be a large factor in the teams' AL division series. The A's must have faith that their good pitching finally will beat good hitting in the playoffs, while the Red Sox must mentally overcome years of struggle for generations of Boston players.

"You think about history when you're a baseball player sometimes, and there's a little superstition involved, too," said Macha, who managed in the Boston organization for four years and nearly took over the Red Sox two years ago. "But it's not the main issue. We're focused on winning the opening game, and so are they."

The teams are connected by much more than their postseason struggles. For less than a day last winter, A's general manager Billy Beane accepted an offer to take the same job in Boston before changing his mind.

Under first-year general manager Theo Epstein, the Red Sox have begun to retool their organization as a high-budget version of the A's, with an emphasis on on-base percentage, strong pitching and a deep farm system.

Both teams will pitch their aces in the opener, with league ERA champion Pedro Martinez facing 16-game winner Tim Hudson. The late start should only add to the tension when Boston's league-best offense takes on the best of Oakland's top-notch pitching staff.

"He's a stud," Hudson said of Martinez. "He's been one of the best pitchers in the American League every year since I've been here. He has dominating stuff. He's a guy I always looked up to coming up.